Trix Wilkins's Blog: Much ado about Little Women, page 4

A new Little Women for the new year: a review

By Trix Wilkins

Photo courtesy of the UK Times 

It’s the first day of the 150th year since Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women was first published – a favorite novel of mine, so I was excited to see the new series which aired just after Christmas. Here are my thoughts on the latest film iteration.

Things I loved…

The real world of the Alcotts

I liked the fact that this adaptation didn’t shy away from the “behind the scenes” of the novel: civil war, poverty, illness, death, money. Aspects of the Alcotts’ real history and relations were given prominence. Financial difficulties; the ramifications of war; the risk in compassion for the sick and the poor.

John Brooke is the hero

John’s story arc was prominent in this version. We see his intelligence, diligence, bravery, kindness, and passion. I felt this was honoring of John Pratt, on whom he is based, and whom Louisa May Alcott held in high regard. John Brooke is given justice as the knightly man that he is.

Aunt March – great fun!

There’s just a bit of cheek in the Aunt March in the novel that shines through nicely in this series – she’s serious, of course, and everything must be done her way, of course, but there is also a whiff of the scandalous about her, a whiff of the daring, of doing things a bit off kilter sometimes…

The tension over the book

It’s that pivotal confrontation in the novel between Jo and Amy, and it’s given plenty of tension and screen time that had me on the edge and feeling the horror, the loss, the betrayal…just about all the things that attended my reading that part for the first time.

The lake sequence

No, I’m not confusing this with Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice ;). This connects with my first point about how John is given more air time compared to other adaptations, but I just thoroughly enjoyed the whole section on the lake and wish it had been longer!

Fun in the snow

I loved the scenes in which the sisters played in the snow, made snow men, snow angels, sang songs…Such beautiful pictures of fun with family and friends that were a joy to watch.

Professor Bhaer is authentically appealing

If I hadn’t read Little Women and had simply seen this adaptation, I’d be Team Bhaer all the way. He’s depicted as learned, compassionate, generous, humble, romantic, with plenty of heart and humor.

Things I wish had been there…

Theology more in line with the novel

I enjoyed seeing more of Beth, the deep affection between herself and Jo, and all Jo had done for her. The adaptation has Beth and Jo saying things about God they don’t actually say in the novel, and omits things they did say. I would have also liked to have seen some of Marmee’s speeches to her daughters.

The character growth of Amy and Laurie

The novels Little Women and Good Wives have Amy and Laurie undergoing changes in character between the beginning and end of the narrative, which weren’t apparent in this adaptation. I was left with the impression they were older and richer, yet no more mature than at the beginning.

The missing scenes of Jo and Laurie

As a fan of Jo and Laurie’s friendship, this was the thing I missed most. Several scenes weren’t shown, and some scenes altered, which changed their dynamic significantly from the novel. It was a lot more querulous (and dare I say less fun?), and I kept squirming thinking, “That didn’t happen in the book…”

Favorite quotes from the series

Marmee: “Sometimes we simply have to do the bravest thing.”

Professor Bhaer: “It pains me to see a child earn their bread.”

Jo: “I shouldn’t have to explain how much a sister can matter.”

A Literary Christmas with Little Women

By Trix Wilkins

Cover photo by Daria Yakovleva via Pixabay

Make “messes” like the March sisters, read books inspired by Little Women, take off on a Grand Tour…This is for all who want to celebrate Christmas Little Women style.

For Team Meg

Of course Meg did more than cook in Little Women, but these definitely made me think of the keen little homemaker in her! Here are some yummy looking recipes to try one’s hand at this Christmas.

Little Gingerbread Women from Alison’s Wonderland Recipes – and you can modify numbers (how many at your Little Women Christmas tea party…?).

[image error] Photo courtesy of Alison’s Wonderland Recipes 

If you’re more of an apple-pie sort of person than gingerbread, you can try Louisa May Alcott’s Apple Slump courtesy of the Huffington Post – or if you have a sister who wants to visit a sick next-door-neighbor (but can’t make “messes” to save her life), you can make blancmange like Hannah Heath.

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For Team Jo

Take off on a Little Women World Tour! This multiple city Little Women Trail is a mix of speculation touching on the various cities mentioned in Little Women Part 1 mingled with the literary routes through Concord and Boston.

[image error] Photo courtesy of Felix Broennimann via Pixabay

If money’s a bit tight, you could put on a play (you might want to check out how the experts set up the real March home at Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House first ;)) or join fellow readers in a challenge such as the In the Bookcase A Literary Christmas reading link up. 

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If genius is burning, consider writing a piece for the Little Women 150th anniversary anthology due to be published next year!

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For Team Beth

Visit your neighbors with both kind words and practical help (maybe offer some baby-sitting for parents keen for a much needed break).

Go to your nearest op shop and buy dolls needing a little TLC (you can ask a little woman in your life to choose some you can repair together).

If you’d like new dolls to give as gifts for the little Beths in your life, check out the Little Women Dolls and Tea Set from Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House.

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Photo courtesy of Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House

For Team Amy

Collect some artsy framed quotes from Little Women by Bookishly – or get out your supplies and design your own!

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And if you love limes as much as Amy, you might enjoy this Lime Tart recipe by The Little Library Café.

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For Team Marmee

Discover the real Marmee and Jo, their closeness and their writings in Marmee & Louisa: the untold story of Louisa May Alcott and her mother – the author Eve LaPlante is a descendant of the Alcotts and has also designed some reading group questions to accompany her dual biography (it’s Little Women Book Club made easy).

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Abigail Alcott was a prolific writer in her own right and you can also read a collection of her personal writings in My Heart is Boundless.

For Team Mr March

Ponder Literary Portals to Prayer with Louisa May Alcott alongside your Bible – then host a Bible study and literary discussions in your home.

Read your children Francine Rivers’ The Shoe Box, a lovely Christmas story about an adopted boy who discovers a treasure that can’t be taken away (our kids love this one!).

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For Team If Only the Marches were Real

Savor The Little Women Letters whilst on holiday (see Team Jo entry about that Little Women Trail). This is a book for those who have wondered, “What if Jo March were real and she had kids who had kids…” and who love delightful romantic twists. The letters from Jo March are wonderful and bear multiple readings!

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For Team Jo and Laurie

Check out The Courtship of Jo March, a novel for shippers of Jo and Laurie (ie: all who wish a) Jo hadn’t said no OR b) Laurie had grown up and courted Jo a bit better AND c) things had worked out differently with Jo-Laurie-Amy-Professor Bhaer). Things change for Beth, too…

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I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas – and if you have additional ideas for fellow Little Women fans would love to hear them! 

Things I share with the Little Women sisters

By Trix Wilkins

From a failed dinner party, missing out on the adventure of a lifetime and receiving a proposal from my best friend, these are the things I share with the March sisters from Little Women.

Many thanks to fellow bloggers NovElla & Banannabelle, fans of Jane Austen, Lord of the Rings and astronomy, who recently nominated Much Ado about Little Women for the One Lovely Blog Award – which in part inspired this post! Now how to accept this honor by complying with the guidelines below while staying within the topic of Little Women…

Guidelines for the One Lovely Blog Award

Thank the person who nominated you and link their blog in your post.
Include the rules and add the blog award badge as an image.
Add 7 facts about yourself.
Nominate between 3-15 blogs for the award.

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7 things I share with the Little Women sisters
I invited my best friend over for dinner intending to make an impressive spread (and failed)

You would think that after having read of Jo’s experience, I would have learned to plan for a dinner party (perhaps trying my hand at cooking the actual dish or something similar by myself first…) – but no.

Like Jo, this disaster involved seafood. It was supposed to be salt and pepper squid, a replica of one of the best meals we’d ever had together; nostalgia and reminiscing at a fraction of the restaurant price.

What actually happened was:

Instead of throwing the squid into the batter I did it the other way around. This resulted in a big gloopy mess. Then I proceeded to undercook the big gloopy mess.

It not only looked unappetizing but dangerous.

I then reluctantly asked whether we ought to call his father to ask for advice (who both knows how to catch and cook fresh seafood), and to my mortification he looked relieved and agreed.

[image error] So this is what dinner was supposed to have looked like…thanks Pixabay for the photo!

I love the idea of ice skating outdoors…

Wish there were such things as frozen ponds lakes during winter where we live…Alas, ice skating must be done inside without the fresh breeze and trees and snow – though on occasion a temporary outdoor rink is erected in a park but it’s just not the same.

Admittedly, the danger of falling through the ice and/or watching one’s sister fall through the ice after a row is also not the same, for which I admit I must be thankful.

…but on a really cold day I’d rather read Ivanhoe by a warm fire

This is probably the one scenario I’d opt for Meg’s choice over Jo’s in terms of recreational activity – while Jo goes out to shovel snow, Meg toasts her feet while reading.

I loved reading Ivanhoe and would rather re-read that curled up in a soft blanket on a cold day given the option.

Ivanhoe’s heroine Rebecca is brilliant and I suspect Jo would have enjoyed the book immensely – probably not as much as visiting Laurie next door though!

I said the wrong thing at the wrong time and lost the opportunity to travel (for free)

I can’t help feeling heartbroken for Jo every time I read this. Jo and Amy have just called on their aunts, Jo has blurted out things about hating French and being given favors – and consequently, thinking Jo didn’t want to go, Aunt March offers Amy the trip to Europe that she had initially intended to offer Jo.

The very trip that Jo had been looking forward to and waiting for – the chance for adventure and fuel for her stories. She misses out due to a few untimely rash words.

In my final year of uni, an internship was on offer for an overseas newspaper. I blurted out during the interview that I wasn’t entirely sure about journalism as a career. Of course they thought I didn’t want the internship and thus didn’t offer it to me (as they explained in the rejection phone call the next day).

Jo going to Europe would have been a life changer – and I think that internship was a similar turning point for me.

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I tried to set up a guy with someone very dear to me

What could be worse than feeling utterly in the way of a loved one’s happiness?

I can imagine how Jo must have felt while she thought Beth loved Laurie and Laurie loved her. It’s even worse when one’s matchmaking doesn’t work and he ends up liking you instead.

In the end Beth wasn’t heartbroken as she didn’t love Laurie (in that way) and Laurie arguably went on to love another (thankfully my situation has been similarly resolved, minus the arguable).

I once wore really tight painful heels dancing

This was the event that convinced me it is better to buy one pair of expensive comfortable practical shoes over five pairs of uncomfortable pretty shoes no matter how cheap (or pretty).

The difference between Meg’s experience and mine was that I didn’t sprain or twist my ankle due to this silliness – still, I was in so much pain that one of the guys at the formal dance offered me his shoes.

Now that I think about it, the sensible thing would have been to buy flip flops at the nearby shops – or worn flats in the first place – but I was twenty, it was midnight, and I was flattered a boy was willing to walk the city streets at night in socks to ease my suffering however self-inflicted. Vanity, vanity…

[image error]I didn’t get a photo at the time (no smartphones back then), but this comes pretty close to the shoes I remember of that night! (Again, this is courtesy of Pixabay.)

My best friend asked me to marry him

He may not have been a fresh graduate or about to embark on the Grand Tour – nevertheless, he was my closest friend. While out on a bush walk we had stopped by a lovely waterfall – and as much as I am a fan of Theodore Laurence, his proposal speech left Laurie’s in the dust.

Unlike Jo, I accepted. I love being married to him and am so glad I said yes! He is the biggest thrust behind my writing The Courtship of Jo March.

(And yes, this is the same best friend who had been subjected to The Night of the Salt and Pepper Squid Disaster…!)

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Three blogs by fellow fans of Little Women
In the Bookcase

Tarissa writes book reviews and hosts the annual Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge each June. She’s currently running A Literary Christmas reading link-up – you can click on the link below to join

The Art of Amy March in The Other Alcott

By Trix Wilkins

What if Amy had continued her ardent pursuit of art in Little Women? This novel by Elise Hooper is about the real Amy – May Alcott. The one who did not aim to become “an ornament to society” but relentlessly worked to make a career of her art and succeeded.

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All for art and art for all

My favorite thing about The Other Alcott is all the art – the time May spent in Europe taking various art classes, learning techniques, meeting fellow artists, pushing herself to know and try more. The detail was captivating – I felt plunged into the world of art history and the tremendous discipline and tenacity involved in creating art. I have always been disappointed Amy didn’t pursue her art the way her real-life counterpart did and it was a great joy to read of how that process might have happened.

Missing the March sisters

I admit I read this novel expecting more references to Little Women – more letters between herself and her sisters and mother, flashbacks to childhood memories, bantering between all the sisters especially between May and Louisa…even though I knew going into it that the real May Alcott was not actually much like Amy. The narrative flows smoothly as is so I can see why such letters and moments weren’t included; still, I can’t help longing for them! (Maybe I just like long books with such interjections…)

How to court an Alcott

Ahhh, was there a real life Laurie? For the first few chapters I felt like May was more like Jo March in character and temperament than Amy. The book also begins with May having a wealthy and handsome suitor unfazed by her lack of fortune and determined to make her his wife. I like the fact that art was the main focus of the novel; yet I felt the romance was quite rushed. I would have liked to have seen more of the development of the courtship, the character and history of the man she loved.

Favorite quote from the novel

Amy and a friend from art class have this conversation:

“I’ve nothing to lose by trying.”

“I admire your fearlessness.”

“Some might call it foolishness.”

“Well, whatever it is, I like it about you.”

I love that May Alcott kept trying. The courage involved in persisting after disappointment, loss, failure, is no small thing – and Elise Hooper brought this out splendidly in her portrayal of the real Amy March.

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Quiet times with Little Women

By Trix Wilkins

Unwind with passages from Little Women and the Bible…in a portable package

A “Little Women” Tea Time

The perfect tea party for all who love Little Women – scrumptious teas and recipes from the Alcott era with a bit of history thrown in!

The World Is a Tea Party Site

Louisa May Alcott, engraving from Harper’s Weekly. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

One of the great classic American novels is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. And having set up a special tea time for another great writer, Jane Austen, we agreed with a reader here that a special tea time with Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy was a tasty idea. So my humans and I did some research on just what would be involved and in the process found out quite a few interesting things, as you will see here. TOOOT!

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All Little Women means to me

By Trix Wilkins

How a book comes to take such a shape of significance in anyone’s life does so slowly – almost like it does because one doesn’t expect it to. A book, in many ways, can be such a small thing; a means to learn, to feel, to pass away time, but nothing more (except perhaps to the person who wrote it).

Sometimes, a book can be more. Because we read it, we made different choices. We saw the world differently. And we lived a different life to one we otherwise might have. For me, Little Women was one of those books.

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Not so awkward

There is something freeing about finding that a character you like is doing some of the same things you are. So thanks to Jo March, I came to look on aspects of my high school years with some sort of pride:

Not having beautiful or fashionable clothes (just like the March sisters – perhaps this was more an affinity thing rather than pride!)
Playing chess against boys (though I never “let” them win – then again, never heard a boy pay such a lovely compliment to my sister as Laurie did to Beth whilst playing chess)
Writing fantasies and forgetting to eat and sleep (if Jo did it, it must be good)
Collecting books (if Jo and Laurie collected books, how could it be a bad thing?)
Reading for hours on end (I ate chestnuts though, not apples, having read somewhere that nuts were good for the brain)
Reading the Bible every day (or trying to – a tip from the lovable Marmee must be heeded)

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Picture courtesy of Louisa May Alcott is my passion

Not just a partner

So much of the Marches’ movements, thoughts, efforts, are influenced by the man who is largely absent from the story – Mr March. Thankfully, he has sterling character – he is patient, loving, learned and brave – and so his family benefits from their devotion to him. He doesn’t neglect or abuse them; he cherishes and protects them. He honors them with his love whether they disappoint or whether they delight.

What if Mr March had been anything but all those things…

And so at the age of fourteen, when I first read Little Women, the idea that when one chose one’s husband one also chose the father of one’s children, began to take root. Mr March’s bookishness and gentleness in the face of provocation especially struck me and I found myself looking out for them.

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Not a house but a home

Little Women was the first “domestic” novel I read. I had been reading the Baby Sitter’s Club (more about friendship and being entrepreneurs than the home), Nancy Drew (about being smart, beautiful, and saving the world, not the home), and Sweet Valley High (featuring smart and beautiful Elizabeth Wakefield who was more occupied with developing her writing career than home affairs).

So to read a book in which wonderful, delightful things are said and done at home…where a mother would “preach” to her daughters by word and deed, where a father would utter words of encouragement, exhortation, and love, where even in the midst of difficult circumstances one could be kind and generous and helpful to others…What a home to live in!

What richness, what beauty might pervade home – a concept I had, as a teenager, come to view as the place where I slept between eating and studying. I came to think that if it were possible to imagine – then somewhere, somehow, it must be possible to attain.

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Not just any friend

It almost goes without saying (especially if you’ve been reading my blog or have read the Courtship of Jo March) that I think Jo and Laurie’s friendship in Little Women is a brilliant thing.

Until I read Little Women, it had never crossed my mind that a close friendship with a boy might be possible (or desirable).

Afterwards, I was open to the idea that one could possibly have such a friendship and it didn’t have to be romantic or complicated (note: I had only read Part 1 – I didn’t know about Part 2 until years later!).

I also came to expect that the sort of loyalty and encouragement Jo received from Laurie was the normal state of affairs.

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Of course he would: get along with my family, be helpful in practical ways, join in the games one invented, talk about things like travelling and books and what the world ought to be like, write letters (yes, some teenage boys write letters and no, not only the ones with a romantic agenda), read the same books, cheer one on when one reveals one’s hopes for the future.

I came to think these were things all friends did and the boys for the most part met these expectations.

One boy, of course, was head and shoulders above all the others.

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Not the romance I saw coming

My husband was my best friend before he became my husband (still my best friend, and still my husband ;)). Like Jo, I had no romantic feelings upon first meeting him. Unlike Jo, it took me a while to see his merits and become friends (unfortunately, I was not as discerning as she). And it would take five years from first meeting before we worked out what we were about (thankfully, we had a wise mutual friend who shook us up a bit).

I don’t know that we would have been friends quite the same way if I hadn’t read Little Women and thought that a Jo-Laurie sort of friendship was possible. Without that friendship, we wouldn’t have loved each other as friends and more. And were it not for marrying my best friend, I would never have felt such a strong compulsion to imagine a different ending to Little Women.

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Not the book I imagined writing

Because I saw so much of my husband and I in Jo and Laurie, the idea of Jo being with anyone else (even the worthy Professor Bhaer) appalled me. Eventually, the feeling came to take the firmer shape of words on a page.

(I feel a little bit of giddy affinity with Louisa May Alcott in that she hadn’t planned for Little Women to be a success; I hadn’t planned for the Courtship of Jo March to even be a book.)

If it hadn’t been for Little Women, my husband and I might not have been; if not for my husband and I, the Courtship of Jo March would not exist.

Little Women to me is not simply a book – it is an idea. An idea that shaped my life.

(This was inspired by PBS Masterpieces’ recent post: What Little Women means to you.)

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Unsolved mysteries in Little Women

By Trix Wilkins

Things I’ve been wondering about Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women: The Laurences, the Marches, and all that happened between the lines… 

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Why did Mr Laurence dislike Laurie’s mother so much?

Laurie promises that he’ll tell Jo one day why his grandfather didn’t like his mother, only the day never comes (more careful readers than I, if you have gleaned a hint of this in sequels, please let me know!). Mr Laurence seemed to be in the habit of investigating people – did he develop this before or after knowing Laurie’s mother?

What did Jo and Laurie have that “quarrel” about?

While Mrs March was in Washington tending to her husband, Jo writes to her about how she and Laurie had a fight when she “freed [her] mind” about something – and they had both refused to ask pardon until the end of the day. What did they fight about?

How did Mr and Mrs March meet and fall in love?

We only know that Mr March helped his wife with her temper, and that she thought him an excellent husband. But how the whole courtship happened…How did they meet? What drew them to each other initially? Was there anything that had kept them apart for a time and how did they overcome it?

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Photo courtesy of Alchetron

Was Mrs March at all musical like Beth, artistic like Amy, literary like Jo?

Jo, Amy and Beth are so intense about their respective passions that I wonder whether they took the example of their mother in these pursuits as well as her character; whether they saw her writing, playing, and painting, at some stage beyond the pages…

What’s with Aunt March and money?

Was Aunt March the one to have made the rich match, or did her husband? (Or both?) Her husband is described as a wonderful and worthy man. So why does money figure so prominently in her calculations of marriage when it comes to her nephew’s daughters?

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Photo courtesy of Richly Rooted 

Was John Brooke Meg’s first love?

Meg attracted rich suitors, one of whom was Ned Moffat (who subsequently married her friend Sallie Gardiner). Ned in turn didn’t attract Meg, but I wonder if there had been anyone else before John. And while we’re on the subject – did Beth ever like anyone?

How did Mr March lose the family’s money?

The Marches used to be rich, and then something happened between Mr March and a friend and the family was reduced to the poverty upon which Little Women opens. How exactly did this come about?

How did Mr Laurence and Mrs March’s father know each other?

Mr Laurence commends him as having been a brave man and that he was proud to have known him. How did they come to know each other well enough for Mr Laurence to have said this?

What did Laurie write about in the Pickwick Portfolio? 

We get given a sample of the March sisters’ writing before Laurie joins – then told that he wrote so extraordinarily that even Jo is impressed and begins to improve her writing by his example. Apparently no romances, but his pieces are described as “classical.”

What unanswered questions have you been wondering about Little Women?

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How to live up to the Little Women movie

By Trix Wilkins

I loved the way Little Women was portrayed (and admittedly, adjusted!) in the 1994 movie (to such an extent that although I’m pro-Jo-Laurie from Little Women the novel, I’m pro-Jo-Professor from Little Women the movie). These are the things I loved about the last iteration of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel, and looking forward to seeing in the new mini-series:

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Cover courtesy of Wikipedia

Marmee being a wonderful wise mother

I think this is my favorite thing about the movie – the way Marmee is portrayed! She tells her daughters she wishes she could give them a moral and just world and that she knows they’ll make it a better place.

She tells Meg not to worry about her looks for “time diminishes such beauty.” She affirms Jo during her feelings of restlessness, “You have so many extraordinary gifts, how can you expect to live an ordinary life?” She admonishes Amy for becoming involved in the “frivolities” of fashionable limes while writing a scathing letter to the unjust Mr Davis “for we are creatures all equal in God’s eyes.”

And then I love that Marmee is the one who suggests the idea of a school in Plumfield to Jo, “What a challenge that would be!”

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Photo courtesy of Vox

Moving family moments

The opening scene of the girls coming to Marmee, who has come in from the war relief efforts with a letter from their father. Beth’s playing the piano and their gathering around to sing “Glo-ria!” Beth and Jo talking confidentially; Jo confesses she wants to “do something different.” Mr March’s homecoming and the family singing around the piano.

I just loved all singing together actually…Meg’s wedding was one of my favorite scenes, with the whole family holding hands and singing, “Lord of all to Thee we raise hear our voice in grateful praise” (and Laurie making faces at Jo’s looking forlorn over “losing” Meg to John).

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Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures (1994)

Jo and Laurie’s friendship

The closeness, camaraderie and chemistry between Jo and Laurie was such a joy to watch. The new years’ eve ball, dancing in the hall, going ice skating…Laurie jumping out of a cupboard and joining the theatrical society of the March sisters. Going to the theater and Laurie laughing about John and Meg with Jo looking on in horror. Talking Harvard and Laurie’s going off to college.

The set up for the proposal scene is done marvelously – just like in the book, one is rooting absolutely for this pairing and ready to be devastated when Jo delivers her crushing rejection.

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Arrangement courtesy of MajestyRose85’s pinterest collection 

Professor Bhaer made absolute sense

The movie made narrative sense of Jo’s rejecting Laurie and accepting Professor Bhaer, and here’s how:

Laurie’s role in encouraging Jo’s writing is completely omitted

There’s no mention of Laurie writing, or his having encouraged Jo when she submitted her first stories, or anything to do with his joining the Pickwick Portfolio (which is actually the sisterly institution that Laurie becomes a part of in the novel, as opposed to the theatrical society).

Laurie was trashed as a character from the rejection onwards

When Jo gives her reason for rejecting Laurie as “neither of us can keep our temper especially you” and he replies “I can, unless provoked” I thought, “Yeap, Jo, keep saying no. Don’t ever say yes to a man who makes excuses for his temper!”

Then he runs off to Europe and smokes, drinks, flirts with multiple women, gives up on his music, rudely insults Amy’s art, and tries to kiss Amy when she is practically engaged to his friend Fred Vaughn (and while he is still in love with Jo, as implied by his only coming home when he receives a letter from her and Jo’s saying when he does that he had assured her “he would never love another”).

Whether one looks like Christian Bale or not, one is most definitely unattractive under such circumstances, especially when compared to one’s rival.

The injection of a brilliant romance

And what a rival Professor Bhaer was! The set-up of this romance was done exceedingly well. Even if it was achieved by injecting things into the plot that didn’t occur in the novel (see points below), I thoroughly enjoyed what the movie made of this relationship – powerful stuff when transferred to the screen!

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Photo courtesy of Silver Petticoat Review

He’s good looking

He actually looks like a physically good match for Jo; in the novel he’s said to be portly, forty and blond – none of which Gabriel Byrne is.

Those moments of intellectual connection

Their talking politics and books after he helps pick up the books she’s dropped in the street; his easing a way for her to contribute to a conversation about women and the vote.

An actual date

The date and kiss in the theatre eaves as they watch the opera and his translating the romantic poetry for her, which gives him the excuse of telling her “your heart understood mine.”

He helps with her passion and career

His advising “you should please yourself” (as opposed to others) regarding her writing (in the novel he actually reprimands Jo for her sensational stories, which discourages Jo to the extent that she gives up writing altogether for a time. Louisa May Alcott writes of this episode, “He was satisfied; for, though no words passed between them, he knew that she had given up writing”). His secretly submitting Jo’s manuscript of Little Women for publication.

If Little Women the novel had gone down the way Little Women the movie had, I would be completely in the Jo Bhaer camp…

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Why Meg says yes: Defending Little Women’s John Brooke

By Trix Wilkins

John Brooke is one of those men in books and in life whose virtues are sadly often overlooked – he frequently pales next to Laurie and we forget he was fashioned after Louisa May Alcott’s brother-in-law John Pratt, for whom she had the highest respect and admiration (a thing that could not be said of many men). For that reason John Brooke deserves closer scrutiny; and for his merits he shines under it.

Essentially, these are the reasons Meg says yes.

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Photo courtesy of StageScene L.A. with Nick Waaland as John Brooke 

He is discreet about himself

The Marches don’t find out about the things he’s done. Mr Laurence undertakes his own investigations as to the sort of man John is (one would imagine he would have been diligent in choosing the man to whom he would entrust his grandson’s education). It is Mr Laurence who shares all this information with the Marches so they can esteem him as he deserves.

He shares what little he has

He provided financially for the woman who nursed his mother, even though he had little means of his own. He rejected a plum tutoring offer “to some nice person” so he could care for his mother until she died (the implication of his having to care for her suggests either that his father had passed away or abandoned them. In any event, he does not abandon his mother).

He’s not in it for the money

Laurie arranged Camp Laurence partly to set him up with the wealthy Kate Vaughn, and he has plenty of opportunities to pay attention and win her approval. Instead, John clearly shows his preference for Meg even though she is significantly less eligible by society’s standards. And as mentioned – he could have had a prestigious job with a wealthy family, but doesn’t take it for his mother’s sake.

He defends and speaks up for the one he loves

When Kate finds out about Meg’s being a governess, she reacts as if Meg has the most undesirable fate imaginable. John defends the dignity that accompanies the work Meg does for the sake of her family (and the fact that she is able to do it). “Young ladies in America love independence as much as their ancestors did, and are admired and respected for supporting themselves.”

He volunteers in the army and is honest about why

He volunteers on the Union side and fights against slavery for which Meg readily praises him. He could have simply accepted her approval and admiration. Instead he frankly tells her that it is not such a sacrifice as he has neither mother nor sisters to leave behind “and very few friends to care whether I live or die.”

He sends letters every day 

John’s escorting of Mrs March to Washington to nurse Mr March is something that should be credited to Mr Laurence, who comes up with the pretext of sending him to attend to “business.” However, John didn’t have to send daily letters to keep the family updated so they could be comforted with good news as soon as possible.

He openly declares his intentions

No sneaky business here – he tells Mr and Mrs March about his intentions for Meg, and only asks for “leave to love her and work for her, and the right to make her love him if he could.”

He devotes himself to caring for Mr March 

Mr March kindly (and rightly) gives John credit in a speech to his family at Christmas, saying “how devoted Brooke had been and how he was altogether a most estimable and upright young man.”

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When he’s rejected, he responds gently

Oh how I hope this scene is included in the new Little Women mini-series! (Incidentally, I love how Louisa May Alcott describes Meg’s refusal: “The best of us have a spice of perversity in us, especially when we are young and in love.”)

Meg says no because she thinks John looks over-confident in proposing to her – she can’t stand the fact that he seems so sure she’ll say yes (can’t blame her for that one…). When she says she’d rather he not think of her, she expects him to stomp around the room indignantly a la Darcy.

Instead he says, “I’ll wait, and in the meantime, you could be learning to like me…Mayn’t I hope you’ll change your mind by and by?”

He’s a bit on the scandalous side after all

Meg told Jo she wouldn’t accept John’s proposal – so of course Jo gets the shock of her life when she comes traipsing down the stairs and finds “the strong-minded sister enthroned upon his knee, and wearing an expression of the most abject submission.”

I have to like his sense of humor here, for he must know Jo disapproves and he laughs before saying, “Sister Jo, congratulate us!”

If ever I do get my wish, you see what I’ll do for Brooke.

Theodore Laurence, Castles in the air, Little Women

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